Did the Chig and the coaching staff fail DJK?

DuffMan

DuffMan

Well-Known Member
I'm not trying to throw anyone under the bus, but I have to question what Chigozie Ejiasi's role is on the team if it isn’t to prevent this kind of stuff from happening.

Understand that I firmly believe that the only one responsible for DJK’s situation is DJK. Regardless of who he was living with he voluntarily chose to get involved with multiple illegal drugs. It’s unfair to hold Chig (I think that’s what he goes by), KF, or even his roommate responsible for his actions. He is where he is as a direct result of his decision making. You reap what you sow. Anyone who places blame outside of #15 is kidding themselves.

That being said why wasn’t the coaching staff, and specifically the life skills coach, able to prevent this from happening? Wouldn’t a life coach at the very least meet with everyone on the roster annually and be aware of their living situation at all times? This is especially true given the Pheasant Ridge and Ghost Room situations that have happened in the past. I can understand that KF has far too many things on his plate to know the personal goings on in these kids lives. All we can reasonably expect from him is to know where these kids stand academically and on the depth chart, after all that’s why we hired the life skills coach to begin with.

So what exactly does this guy do? I understand that a large part of Chig’s time is probably spent with the young guys on the roster as they adjust to college life and it should be. I also understand that DJK is hardly a kid anymore (he’s 23) and that despite some possible maturity issues he’s not been in any kind of trouble off the field. A player in that situation deserves a bit more freedom, and a bit less attention than a 19 year old on campus, or even someone with previous legal issues. However even with more freedom there must be some contact between player and life skills coach, doesn’t there? I can’t help but think that Chig failed in this situation.

I guess it’s possible that Chig and the rest of the coaching staff including KF did know who he was living with. I suppose it could be that while they hardly condoned it they ultimately determined they couldn’t force him to move out, this is America after all, but wouldn’t that still be a failure on their part?

I guess ultimately I can come to no other conclusion that this coaching staff, to some degree, failed DJK. They also failed the other 84 scholarship players, the school itself, and to some degree it’s fan base.

Either they failed because they DIDN’T know who he was living with, or they failed because they DID know but didn’t remedy the situation.
 
DJK failed DJK

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him think. (Anyone that gets that reference gets 2 bonus cool points from me.)
 
DuffMan said:
I'm not trying to throw anyone under the bus, but I have to question what Chigozie Ejiasi's role is on the team if it isn’t to prevent this kind of stuff from happening.

Understand that I firmly believe that the only one responsible for DJK’s situation is DJK. Regardless of who he was living with he voluntarily chose to get involved with multiple illegal drugs. It’s unfair to hold Chig (I think that’s what he goes by), KF, or even his roommate responsible for his actions. He is where he is as a direct result of his decision making. You reap what you sow. Anyone who places blame outside of #15 is kidding themselves.

That being said why wasn’t the coaching staff, and specifically the life skills coach, able to prevent this from happening? Wouldn’t a life coach at the very least meet with everyone on the roster annually and be aware of their living situation at all times? This is especially true given the Pheasant Ridge and Ghost Room situations that have happened in the past. I can understand that KF has far too many things on his plate to know the personal goings on in these kids lives. All we can reasonably expect from him is to know where these kids stand academically and on the depth chart, after all that’s why we hired the life skills coach to begin with.

So what exactly does this guy do? I understand that a large part of Chig’s time is probably spent with the young guys on the roster as they adjust to college life and it should be. I also understand that DJK is hardly a kid anymore (he’s 23) and that despite some possible maturity issues he’s not been in any kind of trouble off the field. A player in that situation deserves a bit more freedom, and a bit less attention than a 19 year old on campus, or even someone with previous legal issues. However even with more freedom there must be some contact between player and life skills coach, doesn’t there? I can’t help but think that Chig failed in this situation.

I guess it’s possible that Chig and the rest of the coaching staff including KF did know who he was living with. I suppose it could be that while they hardly condoned it they ultimately determined they couldn’t force him to move out, this is America after all, but wouldn’t that still be a failure on their part?

I guess ultimately I can come to no other conclusion that this coaching staff, to some degree, failed DJK. They also failed the other 84 scholarship players, the school itself, and to some degree it’s fan base.

Either they failed because they DIDN’T know who he was living with, or they failed because they DID know but didn’t remedy the situation.
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2 words: personal responsibility. There reaches a point in a man's life he needs to take accountablity for his own poor decisions.
 
smoot27 said:
2 words: personal responsibility. There reaches a point in a man's life he needs to take accountablity for his own poor decisions.
Click to expand...

Again I'm not disputing that either, DJK can and will take accountability for what he's done. At the same time it's increadibly naive to say that's the end of it without exploring what more the coaching staff might have done to prevent this from happening.
 
It isn't the responsibility of the coaching staff to make sure all of their senior leaders aren't making it snow in their bedrooms.

If anyone failed him, it is any teammate who knew he was stashing coke and pills and didn't beat the **** out of him when they found out. Like I have said before, as a college athlete, if I found out anyone on my team were doing hard drugs, I absolutely would have done whatever to get them help, as their friend and for the sake of every last person on the team who count on them. And in my situation, my teammate getting arrested wouldn't have been in every paper in the state.
 
theboat said:
DJK failed DJK

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him think. (Anyone that gets that reference gets 2 bonus cool points from me.)
Click to expand...

smoot27 said:
2 words: personal responsibility. There reaches a point in a man's life he needs to take accountablity for his own poor decisions.
Click to expand...

Most people, including the OP, agree on this. First and foremost, DJK was the one responsible.

However, I think the question posed in the OP isn't an unfair one. What are, exactly, the roles of the coaching staff in the lives of these young men? How much control do they exercise over their players off the field? What, exactly, is the job of the "life coach" with regard to the players?
 
It is kinda like an alcoholic. You can't help someone if they don't want to be helped. Would you blame a sponsor for someone falling off the wagon? We have tons of evidence of KF and Iowa trying to keep DJK on the straight and narrow, but this makes it obvious that he was not willing to accept the help. People need to hit there personal "rock bottom" before they look to make changes in themselves. I just pray that this is actually his bottom and he doesn't go Maurice Clarett on us.
 
DJK is 100% responsible for what he does. That said, I find it hard to believe that no one else associated with the program did not know what was going on at that house. There are a lot of loose lips at the age of a college player. And, being on drugs, there are physical and mental signs you can usually visually see.

I do wonder how recent the drug activity had been going on for. Are we talking this year or for several years now?

Perhaps there were individuals who were afraid to speak out.

In any event, DJK made the choice to get involved in that dirty business. He is paying for it now.
 
Again I want to stress I didn't raise this subject to try and divert blame AWAY from DJK. Regardless of who he was living with ultimately it was his decision to get involved with the things he was invovled with. Had he not had pot, coke and pills in his bedroom, had he not tested positive for them, it's unlikely he would not have been charged, despite what his roomate was doing.

Further it's very possible that he would have been involved in these things REGARDLESS of who he was living with.

My point is an extremly narrow one. Simply stated it is...

The coaching staff failed by allowing him to live with the person he was living with.
 
I would agree, they failed if they knew what was going on, and did not step in to try to in-house discipline the situation. For all we know though, maybe they tried to do something, and DJK did not follow through. On the other hand, I would think Ferentz would automatically suspend a player for the type of things he was involved with anyway (he would have been suspended before any police action came into play).

If I am taking an educated guess, this was a recent issue that has happened within the past year, or the past few months. Not that DJK might have done drugs in the past (Pot, alcohol), but became so sloppy about it and maybe took it up a few notches to harder drugs (cocaine, popping prescription pills). With that being the case, it might have been more hush-hush up to a point and not a lot of people were aware of it until recently (with the last to know being the coaching staff).
 
DuffMan said:
Again I want to stress I didn't raise this subject to try and divert blame AWAY from DJK. Regardless of who he was living with ultimately it was his decision to get involved with the things he was invovled with. Had he not had pot, coke and pills in his bedroom, had he not tested positive for them, it's unlikely he would not have been charged, despite what his roomate was doing.

Further it's very possible that he would have been involved in these things REGARDLESS of who he was living with.

My point is an extremly narrow one. Simply stated it is...

The coaching staff failed by allowing him to live with the person he was living with.
Click to expand...

I agree. I'm sure there are plenty of other players on the team who do drugs, the coaching staff can't control these choices. What they can have some control over is who the player is living with. I don't think it's unreasonable for the coaching staff to run background checks on the player's roommates. They are representing the University of Iowa and 85 of them are receiving money for housing from the university. I don't think it's outrageous to ask the coaching staff to make sure none of them are living with convicted drug dealers.
 
theboat said:
It is kinda like an alcoholic. You can't help someone if they don't want to be helped. Would you blame a sponsor for someone falling off the wagon? We have tons of evidence of KF and Iowa trying to keep DJK on the straight and narrow, but this makes it obvious that he was not willing to accept the help. People need to hit there personal "rock bottom" before they look to make changes in themselves. I just pray that this is actually his bottom and he doesn't go Maurice Clarett on us.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I was going to say when i read the op. He has been in Ferentz's dog house for a long time and Ferentz doesn't strike me as the type of person who wouldn't at least give DJK the opportunity to work his way out of it. I don't think DJK cared about being in the dog house.
 
talkinhawks said:
Exactly what I was going to say when i read the op. He has been in Ferentz's dog house for a long time and Ferentz doesn't strike me as the type of person who wouldn't at least give DJK the opportunity to work his way out of it. I don't think DJK cared about being in the dog house.
Click to expand...

This isn't about being in the dog house, and this isn't about the coaching staff being responsible for DJK using drugs. This is about the fact it has to be seen as a failure by the staff that he lived with who he lived with. Again there is no other logical alternative.

Scenario 1: They knew who he lived with and didn't do anything or didn't do enough to make sure he moved.
FAIL

Scenario 2: They didn't know who he lived with.
FAIL

The only other scenario I can see as a possibility is DJK pretended he lived with someone else or lived alone and lied to the coaches about it. While I guess thats possible I just don't see it as likely as 1 or 2.
 
Good lord I wish people would just let this thing go. The kid made poor decisions and likes drugs. Get over it.
 
God help me for admitting he has a point but Pat Harty made an interesting comment today. He said a large part of Chick's job as a life coach is to ease the transition for the younger players who are away from home for the first time. It would stand to reason that a 5th year senior wouldn't need as much looking after. Now I'll take my pennance.
 
DuffMan said:
I'm not trying to throw anyone under the bus, but I have to question what Chigozie Ejiasi's role is on the team if it isn’t to prevent this kind of stuff from happening.

Understand that I firmly believe that the only one responsible for DJK’s situation is DJK. Regardless of who he was living with he voluntarily chose to get involved with multiple illegal drugs. It’s unfair to hold Chig (I think that’s what he goes by), KF, or even his roommate responsible for his actions. He is where he is as a direct result of his decision making. You reap what you sow. Anyone who places blame outside of #15 is kidding themselves.

That being said why wasn’t the coaching staff, and specifically the life skills coach, able to prevent this from happening? Wouldn’t a life coach at the very least meet with everyone on the roster annually and be aware of their living situation at all times? This is especially true given the Pheasant Ridge and Ghost Room situations that have happened in the past. I can understand that KF has far too many things on his plate to know the personal goings on in these kids lives. All we can reasonably expect from him is to know where these kids stand academically and on the depth chart, after all that’s why we hired the life skills coach to begin with.

So what exactly does this guy do? I understand that a large part of Chig’s time is probably spent with the young guys on the roster as they adjust to college life and it should be. I also understand that DJK is hardly a kid anymore (he’s 23) and that despite some possible maturity issues he’s not been in any kind of trouble off the field. A player in that situation deserves a bit more freedom, and a bit less attention than a 19 year old on campus, or even someone with previous legal issues. However even with more freedom there must be some contact between player and life skills coach, doesn’t there? I can’t help but think that Chig failed in this situation.

I guess it’s possible that Chig and the rest of the coaching staff including KF did know who he was living with. I suppose it could be that while they hardly condoned it they ultimately determined they couldn’t force him to move out, this is America after all, but wouldn’t that still be a failure on their part?

I guess ultimately I can come to no other conclusion that this coaching staff, to some degree, failed DJK. They also failed the other 84 scholarship players, the school itself, and to some degree it’s fan base.

Either they failed because they DIDN’T know who he was living with, or they failed because they DID know but didn’t remedy the situation.
Click to expand...


So much for not throwing anyone under the bus. BTW, you oughta sign on as DJKs lawyer. Just blame the staff.
 
IOWuh said:
God help me for admitting he has a point but Pat Harty made an interesting comment today. He said a large part of Chick's job as a life coach is to ease the transition for the younger players who are away from home for the first time. It would stand to reason that a 5th year senior wouldn't need as much looking after. Now I'll take my pennance.
Click to expand...

I alluded to this in a previous post, but it is worth repeating. The coaches of the football team shouldn't be worried about a senior, a guy who's a leader and who's got a future in professional football not being able to have a decent grasp on his own life.

Is there anything in the past that would seriously allow you to beleive Coach Ferentz would know that one of his senior starters is doing hard drugs and simply ignore it? I am willing to bet that DJK kept this from his closest friends, because I have trouble believing other players would allow him to live like that.
 
Iowafarmgirl said:
I alluded to this in a previous post, but it is worth repeating. The coaches of the football team shouldn't be worried about a senior, a guy who's a leader and who's got a future in professional football not being able to have a decent grasp on his own life.

Is there anything in the past that would seriously allow you to beleive Coach Ferentz would know that one of his senior starters is doing hard drugs and simply ignore it? I am willing to bet that DJK kept this from his closest friends, because I have trouble believing other players would allow him to live like that.
Click to expand...

From reading a lot of your posts I think you really underestimate how casually most college kids view cocaine use. I have no doubt that other Hawks use it too, it's that way at probably every D-1 school. I can't see any player standing up to DJK and calling for an intervention because of his drug use, it obviously wasn't affecting his performance on the field. There's a lot of guys on that football team that like to party, there's coke at a lot of after parties and even bars in IC, I would highly doubt anyone on the team would be shocked or highly upset to find out that a teammate was using.
 
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